Horst von Usedom

Horst von Usedom (9 March 1906-14 October 1970) was a Generalmajor of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Biography
Horst von Usedom was born in Celle, Lower Saxony, German Empire on 9 March 1906, and he commanded a Wehrmacht reconnaissance battalion during Operation Barbarossa in 1941. His battalion was nicknamed the "Usedom Hussars", a fitting nickname, as Usedom was a cavalry officer whose ancestors had commanded a regiment of hussars bearing his name in 1806. He was also known to carry around a pet cocker spaniel during his campaigns in World War II. On 12 April 1945, he took command of the entrapped 12th Panzer Division as it was encircled in the Courland Pocket by the Soviet Red Army, and he was forced to surrender in May 1945. He died in Gauting, Bavaria, West Germany in October 1970 at the age of 64.